


The Double Date

by SigneHansen



Category: The Mindy Project
Genre: Double Date, F/M, More tags will be added later, Previous Relationship, when I actually know where this is going
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-31
Updated: 2014-03-01
Packaged: 2018-01-10 17:58:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1162793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SigneHansen/pseuds/SigneHansen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Breaking up with Mindy was not part of the plan... But now he's stuck going on a double date, where the woman he loves is not his date...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So here we are: I'm trying to do a fic with more chapters...  
> This will probably turn out horribly, but I'm trying, and I'm hoping it'll work!  
> The chapters will probably be pretty short, but that's a good thing, because then there's a bigger chance that I'll actually update....
> 
> ANYHOW!  
> This won't be beta'ed.
> 
> I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS BAR (and by bar I mean fandom)

”Danny, Danny, Danny” Mindy was bouncing around Danny’s office, trying to get his attention. He was staring intently down at the file in his hands, but the second she’d come through his door, his attention was all on her. Even if he tried to hide that.

She was now standing close to his chair, her arms crossed.

“Dude, I know you’re listening. Just because we’re no longer dating, you should still totally listen to what I have to say.”

He smiled up at her. “What, Min?”

“Well, you know how we talked about dating other people?” She looked so hopeful he couldn’t bear to shoot her down. Yeah, so they’d broken up. Or rather, he had broken up with her. It had all happened so fast – dating her and all – and the break-up came out of nowhere. To say he regretted it, was a big understatement.

Yeah, so… He’d freaked out and broken it off with her. But knowing how she felt in his arms, how it felt kissing her and how fucking amazing it felt having her near him, made this unbearable. It was his own fault, he knew that…

“Danny? Are you even listening to me right now?” The look on her face made him realize that he’d apparently zoned out, while she was talking. Looking at her tended to do that to him. Her face was distracting.

“Yeah, sorry. What were you saying?”

“Right, okay, so: We’re no longer dating. We’re both attractive people. We should be dating other people!”

“What?”

“I know this may sound kind of crazy, but hear me out for a second. What if we went on a double date?”

Danny stared at her, mouth open in shock, but Mindy was apparently immune to that look, because she just nodded and smiled at him.

“I found some seriously awesome people. He’s like some sort of Greek god who likes to read Shakespeare and play golf and goes to Paris on the weekends and... Okay, fine he didn’t say any of that, but he’s really _really_ attractive, Danny. And she’s totally cute. She’s got that manic-pixie-dream-girl-thing going for her, but without being obnoxious. You’d love her. She kind of looks like Christina too! Come on Danny.”

She dragged out the ‘y’ in his name, and looked at him with so much hopefulness that all he could do was nod curtly and say “I… Okay.”

She hugged him tightly and went back towards the door. She turned towards him, a sweet smile on her lips “Hey Danny? Thank you.”

Danny just nodded and when she closed his door, he let his head fall onto the table, a deep groan emanating from his throat.

So not only had he managed to dump the woman of his dreams, he was now taking her on a double date, where her date was NOT him, but some sort of asshole who looked like a Greek god.

This would be absolute fucking torture.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mindy's thoughts!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit longer than the last one, and it might continue that way.... Or it might not.  
> I really don't know.  
> I am so bad at this chapter-thing, but we'll see how it pans out!
> 
>  
> 
> And also: Thank you for all the amazing things you guys said about this (and my other fics) both on tumblr and here. It seriously makes all this so much better, and I adore and love you all. <3

Mindy was trying not to think about it.

Getting dumped by Danny Castellano sucked more than she cared to admit. She wasn’t even the one who had initiated the relationship, and there she was, apparently way more invested in it than him. The break-up came pretty much out of nowhere. One minute they were tangled together on her couch, watching a lame documentary, and the next Danny was extricating himself, saying that he couldn’t do this and basically running away from her.

It had taken her a good 2 hours before she’d stopped crying, and decided to go to his apartment.

He’d looked like shit when she got there, which kind of made her hopeful that maybe it was just a mistake and everything would work out. But then he told her that it was too much, that she should be with someone who deserved her, that he valued their friendship too much. All kinds of crap like that.

Honestly, she’d just really wanted to force him to realize that they were perfect together, but his broken voice and sincere words made it impossible, so instead: she agreed that spending time apart would be good for them.

They had been dating for what, like a month? He had been the sole reason for her break-up with Cliff and to be perfectly honest she couldn’t remember feeling more comfortable in a relationship, than she’d felt with Danny.

It hurt like hell to think about what they’d thrown away, but apparently that was what Danny wanted. And if she couldn’t be with him, she at least wanted to stay friends with him… And also possibly choose who he _could_ be with.

It was all very confusing and not very well-thought out at all, but when she’d met Jake, the idea immediately came to her.

He was tall, blonde and so fucking gorgeous she could barely look at him. They’d exchanged pleasantries, as you do, but Mindy really didn’t know much about him, apart from the fact that he was basically a Greek god. Oh, and also the exact opposite of Danny in basically every way. Which she did not want to talk about thank you very much.

So, half of the equation was done. Now she just had to find a girl.

The girl, Lauren, was adorable. Mindy met her at a coffee shop, where she had dropped her drink on the floor, and was now apologizing profusely and trying to mop it up with some napkins.

Mindy had helped her, and then bought her a new cup of herbal tea. Lauren was short, a little shorter than Mindy herself, and had blonde hair that just reached her shoulders. She was also really thin and had basically no curves whatsoever. She was exactly Danny’s type, if you ignored the chubby Indian woman he had recently been with. Ugh.

When she’d brought up the double date, Lauren had seemed really excited. She was a bit younger than Mindy too, so she felt obliged to tell her that Danny was basically an old man. She didn’t seem to mind, and even claimed that older men were usually her favorites. She accentuated that point by winking at a _very old man_ that had just entered the coffee shop. Mindy found herself laughing, but also kind of felt herself liking Lauren a bit less.

Jake, on the other hand, was skeptical about the double date. She had texted him, and asked if it was okay. He had responded by saying that he kind of wanted her on her own, but if this was what she wanted, he’d take her any way he could.

It was both very flattering and kind of creepy. Especially since they’d basically talked for what, like 5 minutes?

Anyway: The date was on. Now she just had to make Danny realize what a fantastic idea it was.

She tried not to think about the fact that she would see Danny falling in love with someone else, while she was actually there. And she was sure he would. Lauren was gorgeous and cute and ugh, she had to admit that the initial excitement was gone.

No. He was the one who broke up with her. She needed to show him that she had moved on – and with an incredibly hot guy at that – and that she was totally ready for Danny and her to go back to the way they were before.

So, in theory it all worked.

In reality? She was kind of regretting everything.

But then she’d gone to his office. She’d played the role as “we’re just friends now, and I’m totally okay with that” perfectly, and she’d managed to convinced him.

Sort of, at least.

Because even though he’d essentially said yes, his face had definitely betrayed him. He wasn’t completely on board with this double date idea. Whether it was because of the actual dating-part or the fact that he wasn’t ready to date, she wasn’t sure.

But she had to admit that the thought of him maybe not being completely okay with all of this? It sparked a hope in her heart, that she should definitely try to forget about before the date.

Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short, quick chapter to... Uhm... Start the action, or? I don't even know...

There was a couple of hours left, before Danny had to be at Mindy’s. They’d decided to arrive together, because Danny had absolutely no idea who they were meeting.

He’d been finished for almost half an hour… Just sitting in his couch, trying to focus on something.

But it was difficult, when all he could think about was that he might lose Mindy tonight. The thought made him sweaty and nervous and he was so not ready for this.

He turned on the TV in the hopes that it may help him forget about the horrors to come.

What if the guy touched Mindy? What if he kissed her? Oh god. He could not be there for that. And then there was his own date… She reminded her of Christina? Was that what she’d said?

She should know that he didn’t want a new Christina. A “manic-pixie-dream-girl” as Mindy had called it. What he wanted was not a thin, blonde, pretty girl, what he wanted was a full-figured, curvy, beautiful Indian girl… Named Mindy Lahiri…

So yeah, he’d screwed that up, and now he was facing the consequences.

Fucking awesome.

Good job, Castellano! He groaned and put his face in his hands.

An hour and 43 minutes.

He went back into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. There was nothing left to be done. He’d shaved, he’d put on his suit and he’d even applied that weird moisturizing cream that Mindy had bought him. He was currently sweating through the suit, but there was nothing to be done about that, so he returned to the couch.

An hour and 34 minutes.

He could be early, right? There was no shame in being a bit early.

And besides, Mindy always said she liked having a guy in the room, when she was getting ready.

An hour and 21 minutes.

Screw this. He was leaving now. There was no reason for him to sit at home, when he could be with her and watch her get ready and look gorgeous in those tight-fitting dresses for… well, not for him.

This sucked.

 

 

15 minutes later, he was standing in front of her door, a little over an hour early.

He was just about to knock, when the door flew open and Gwen rushed out.

“Oh, hi Danny”

“Hey?” she was smiling wickedly at him, holding the door open for him.

“She’s in the bathroom.”

“Okay?”

“Good luck!” she said, pushed him through the door and made her way to the elevator.

“Stupid idiots” she said under her breath, as the elevator doors closed on her.

 

 

“Min?” He was peeking carefully down the hall toward the bathroom.

“Danny? Oh my god. You’re like an hour early!”

“Yeah, sorry. I… Uhm, I wanted to make sure we were there on time?”

“Ugh, such an old man!”

She walked out from the bathroom, wearing nothing but underwear and a pair of pantyhose. The sight left him momentarily unable to speak… And move…

“Come in here, I need your fashion expertise.” She dragged him after her into the closet.

“So, fire away. You usually claim to know exactly what men want.” She looked at him, a hand on her hip.

“I… You should just wear that.” He blurted, gesturing to her half-naked body.

She stared at him with awe. “Seriously?”

“I…”

“Danny, you broke up with me, you don’t get to say stuff like that!”

“Well you’re the one parading around, looking all sexy and cute!”

“No Danny, you know what? You don’t get to do this, okay? _You_ broke up with _me_ , remember?” and then she stormed out of the room, leaving him in the closet.

What he didn’t know though, was the fact that she was smiling when she exited the closet.

Her plan was working!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried making this chapter a bit longer, but I've literally had no time to write all day, so I don't know how it turned out.  
> Regarding the next chapters: I'll try to find time during the week, to write some more, but with work, uni and friends-recently-returned-from-having-spent-a-semester-abroad, I have basically no time.  
> I will try, however, because I freaking love this fandom and all the good things you guys have said about this, just makes me so happy I could die... Or something!
> 
>  
> 
> You guys are the best!! <3

 

Well, plan was maybe a very rich term… She hadn’t exactly planned on him arriving an hour early, and then seeing her in her underwear.

Her original plan had been more about her looking smoking hot in a tight black dress, that she knew he liked. But this worked too!

She’d called Gwen for advice. Told her the whole situation about the double date and how she might still maybe kind of like Danny a little bit.

Gwen, of course, had just smiled knowingly, telling her to “lay it on thick”, whatever that meant.

Then she’d stormed out of the room, leaving Mindy alone in the bathroom and then the whole Danny-seeing-her-in-her-underwear-thing happened.

She was currently back in the bathroom, looking in the mirror.

“Hey Min?” Danny said softly, from the other side of the door. “Listen, I’m sorry about what I said. It’s just… You look really good. You always do. And I think I’m nervous and… I’m sorry, okay? Please come out of there.”

She smiled at herself in the mirror, and went to open up the door.

Then she realized she was still only wearing underwear, so she reached for a towel and wrapped it around herself.

“Stop wallowing, Danny. It’s unattractive.” She may have sort of planned on this, but he was still going to pay. He _had_ broken up with her after all.

“I’m sorry, Mindy.” He reached for her arm, and pulled her gently towards him. She followed willingly, and before she knew it she was being cradled in his arms, her head tucked under his chin.

“Look I know… I know I should’ve talked to you about all this. About us. But, I… Mindy.” He drew back to look at her, and there was such a fragile look in his eyes that she could barely move.

He leaned closer, but just before his lips could find their place on hers, she turned her face slightly to the side, so he caught her cheek instead.

“We should… We should not be doing this, Danny. There are two awesome people waiting for us, and none of them have broken up with me, okay?” tears had formed in her eyes and she looked at him pleadingly. He just nodded briefly and drew back.

“I’m… Sorry, I… I shouldn’t have.”

For a while they just stood there, looking at each other. The towel she’d thrown on had fallen to the floor sometime during the – well, the _moment._

“I should find something to put on” she gave him a vague smile and went into the closet, where she closed the door and leaned heavily against it.

Yeah, so she’d planned on a moment with Danny. On him realizing that the break-up had been a mistake and that he wanted her back.

But standing there, wearing almost nothing but a towel, had not felt like the right time – or the right moment. She felt vulnerable and uncomfortable and though it had felt absolutely amazing being back in Danny’s arms, she needed more.

She needed to know that he regretted it. That he wanted her back. That it would not happen again. That she meant more to him than that.

She needed to know, that he was in love with her.

Right now, that love felt more like lust, and she could not do that. Not when her heart was so caught up in this.

Looking around at her wardrobe, she found the dress she’d planned on wearing. A tight-fitted black dress, that hugged her curves in all the right places. He’d told her he liked it. That she looked sexy in it.

But she didn’t want him to see her like that – well, yeah, but not just like that. She reached for another dress. A green one. Not as tight, but still flattering.

She put it on and looked at the full-length mirror.

This would have to do.

Now, she just had to figure out a way to let Danny know that she was still interested, but that she needed something else from him than before. And she needed to let him know without actually telling him. It was definitely on him to fix this, even if it meant that she had to push him _heavily_ in the right direction.

The moment from before filtered into her mind.

What if she had let him kiss her? Would they still be going on this double date tonight? Oh god. There was still the possibility of Danny actually clicking with Lauren tonight. And herself clicking with Jake, of course. But let’s be real, if the choice was between a tall, handsome, blonde babe and a short, sweaty, stubborn Italian, well… She couldn’t say it made sense, but the sweaty Italian would win.

Hands down.

She ruffled her hair one last time and opened the door. Danny was not waiting in the hallway as she had kind of been expecting, but she found him in the kitchen, pouring tequila into two shot glasses. Their usual “thing” before going on double dates… Oh god, they had a double date thing.

“You, uhm. You look great” he said quietly, as she made her way to the kitchen counter.

“Thank you” she smiled, and tried not to let the overhanging awkwardness mess with her.

“So, tequila huh?” He nodded and handed her a glass.

Three shots later, they were both a lot less tense and almost ready to leave.

“So, okay. Tell me about this girl, Laura, again.”

“Lauren, Danny. You need to at least remember her name!” She feigned horror, but was secretly a bit excited about the fact that he clearly didn’t even care enough about this girl to remember her name.

“Lauren, right. Lauren… So, what’s she like?” He didn’t look particularly interested, but she knew he was trying to go along with her plan, and she couldn’t hold back the tiny smile, now playing on her lips.

“She’s really cute. Like, adorable really. A lot younger than you, though. But you don’t seem to have a problem with women in their 20s.” she gestured to herself, and winked at him. He only shook his head slightly, and shot her an amused half-smile.

“You know what, I usually prefer women in their 30s actually.” His voice had gone a bit gravelly, and she could hear that he was setting her up for a challenge.

“Well, maybe that’s why you broke up with me then? Being in my late 20s I’m obviously too young for you, Castellano.” She reached over, and punched him lightly on the shoulder, trying to lighten the suddenly way too serious mood.

She glanced at the clock.

“Oh shit, Danny! We have to be there in 10 minutes! We can’t be late, what if they fall in love with each other, while they’re waiting for us!”

Danny whispered something under his breath, but she didn’t catch it, just looked at him quizzically. “What?”

“Nothing, just saying that… Well, it wouldn’t be the first time. Remember Jamie and Lucy?” He laughed at her appalled face.

“Oh god, don’t even bring that up. I was dumped. In the Empire State Building. ON VALENTINE’S DAY! Pretty much the worst date ever.”

“Aaw, come on. At least Jamie hadn’t just been kissing you, when he went all in for Lucy.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “What. Really? He kissed you?”

“Well, we had been dating for while, Danny. Besides, it wasn’t _just_ before. He kissed me before we entered the Empire State Building. But only like a quick peck, so I guess it isn’t really comparable.”

The elevator was moving down, and Mindy kept on glancing at her phone.

“At least the rest of the date was good.” Danny said softly, and shot her a sad smile. “I’ve never shown anyone else that pizza place.”

She looked up from her phone, and shot him a shy glance. “Christina really fucked you up, didn’t she?”

“Yeah… But she can’t be blamed for all of my mistakes. Mindy, I…” But then Mindy’s phone was ringing and she looked at him apologetically.

“Hey Jake! Yeah, we’re on our way. Just… Stay put, okay! We’ll be there soon.”

When she hung up she looked back to Danny, who was staring anywhere but at her. The moment had clearly been broken, and Mindy cursed her phone inwardly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing: Thor 2.0... idek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 things:  
> 1) Uni has started up again, so my time is divided basically 50/50 between that and work. That being said, my classes are really boring, so this chapter was written during the first class of my semester.... I make good choices  
> 2) I only have an outline of what is going to happen in this, in my head. So if everything seems weirdly fragmented, now you know why.  
> 3) Being a Dane, I've grown up with the Norse gods, so I know it's not Ass-guard... Just... Putting that out there.
> 
> I also feel like this may be a bit out of character, which I'm really sorry about, but I couldn't resist the temptation of having Danny marvel at the gorgeousness of Thor 2.0....
> 
> SO YEAH!
> 
> Also: I'm still a bit emotional because of yesterday's BJ Novak AMA on Reddit. Seriously. Oh my god. I just love everyone and everything in and out of this fandom... Or something like that!

 Danny tried clearing his head.

The moment with Mindy had screwed him up. Yeah, so he knew he was definitely regretting the break-up, and for a moment, it felt like Mindy had regretted it too. Well, that was until she turned her head, and he caught her cheek with his lips. The three tequila shot had done nothing to help his predicament. He needed to win her back.

Even if she apparently was not interested.

But then there was the elevator. She’d looked at him with such a hopeful look in his eyes, that he wanted to continue. To tell her how he wanted her back. That he’d been an idiot. That they should just stop this idiotic double date, and go back to her place and get to know each other all over again.

But then her phone rang and the moment was broken.

And now they were in a cab, seconds away from absolute doom. Okay, maybe he was overreacting just a little bit, but seriously. This was not his idea of fun. Honestly, thinking about Mindy being greeted by this big macho man, was making him die a little bit every time he thought of it. What if he kissed her? How well did they know each other?

God, if only her phone hadn’t interrupted him. Maybe he should just say it now? Let her know exactly what he felt before they had to go through with this. They still had time to turn around, right?

“Mindy?” He turned slightly towards her.

“Yeah?” She had that hopeful look again, and it was all he could do not to just reach over, grab her and kiss her. She swallowed visibly, like she was nervous about what he was going to say. And suddenly he lost his courage. What was he thinking?! There was no way he could tell her now? What if she reacted badly? Then he’d be forced to go on the date anyway. There was no stopping a moving train. And this train was moving. Fast.

“Danny?” she looked confused now, and a little worried too.

“Yeah, sorry, I… I was just, uhm, thinking about tonight?”

“Oh”

“I mean, where are we going?” He cursed himself for his absolute lack of a graceful save.

Mindy had turned towards the window, away from Danny. She was staring out, and he couldn’t read the expression on her face.

“This tapas place downtown. We should be there soon.” He may not be able to see her expression, but he could hear in the tone of her voice, that she was not happy.

He took a deep breath, and managed to swallow too much air, so he started coughing. And he couldn’t stop. Mindy turned to him, now looking slightly panicked.

“Oh my god, Danny?! What is happening?”

He couldn’t get any words out, just kept on coughing and then she was on him, hitting him in the back, to make his coughing stop.

“Don’t die on me now, Castellano!”

He let out a tiny laugh between coughs, which managed to make the coughing stop slightly. She smiled at him, her hand still on his back, rubbing up and down now, and they were sitting so close, he could feel her breath on his face.

He leaned forward slightly, and her lips fell to his mouth. He knew this was it. If he kissed her now, she would respond. Her hand was no longer moving on his back, but she kept it there, the warmth radiating through his shirt.

Come on, Castellano! KISS HER!

But once again, just as he was about to make his move, something fucked it up. This time, it was the cab driver saying, “This is it.”

Mindy quickly moved her hand, and smiled awkwardly at him, moving to get out of the cab. “So, I guess we’re here?” she had a hand on the door now, and he knew this was pretty much his final chance to say something.

He quickly threw some cash at the driver, and then he grabbed Mindy by her forearm. “Mindy, wait.”

She stared at him, mouth agape.

“I… Mindy we shouldn’t do this. I… There’s... We… I shouldn’t have broken up with you.” He reached for her hand on the door, but then the door was opened from the outside, and Mindy basically fell out.

“Mindy?” A tall, handsome, blonde guy was standing on the street, staring down at her. He offered her his hand, and sent her a bright, brilliant smile. Danny hated him instantly. Especially because Mindy took the offered hand, and pulled herself towards him.

“Oh god, I hate my life. Thank you for saving me,” she said sweetly, sized him up and continued, “did you know you kind of look like Thor?” The guy - Jack was it? – laughed at her, and nodded, “Yeah, people say that a lot!”

Then he extended that hand not currently draped around Mindy towards Danny, who had just gotten out of the cab. “You must be Dan?”

“Danny, actually.” He shook his hand, trying to crush it, but failing miserably. Mindy was right, he seriously looked like Thor.

This was not good.

“I’m Jake. It’s nice to meet you!” He flashed the brilliant smile again, and Danny couldn’t remember ever hating a person as much, as he currently hated this guy. Even if he had done nothing but be nice and polite. It didn’t make it easier that there was no way in hell, that Danny would be able to take him in a fight.

“Okay, I’m just going to break up this testosterone-party” Mindy said with a giggle, and Danny realized he was still clutching Jake’s hand. He was looking at him with an amused face.

“Right, yes. Sorry.” Danny got out, as he moved to Mindy’s side.

“It’s alright, man. I’m used to that reaction. I have really big hands.” He laughed and oh god that laugh was annoying. Mindy didn’t seem to think so though, as she stared at him like she was marveling at his hotness.

“Mindy?” a small voice came from behind Danny, and he jumped a little at the shock.

“Lauren! Good. We’re all here then. Danny, this is Lauren.” Mindy motioned for Danny to take her hand, but he was so confused about what she could’ve possibly seen in this girl.

She looked so young and tiny and not at all like something he would want.

“Sorry for scaring you before” she smiled sweetly at him, and he got over his initial shock and took her offered hand.

“No, don’t be. I’m easily scared.” He shot her his best smirk, and hoped to god that his flirtation was having vaguely the same effect on Mindy, as her flirtation with the Norse god was having on him.

“Great! Everyone met everyone. Let’s go get our tapas on.” Judging by her chipper remark, she was completely unaffected.

Fucking hell.

He had to talk to her privately.

As soon as possible, before Thor 2.0 made her run away with him to Ass-guard, or whatever the fuck it was called.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait!  
> This chapter did NOT want to be written. I'm telling you, guys. It was being a little bitch ;)
> 
> Anyhow: Here it is!  
> Hope y'all enjoy!
> 
> Oh and: Sorry for not replying to all of your comments, but I just want to say that they literally mean the world to me! They all make me smile like a fucking idiot, and it makes this writing-business so much better. I love you all, and I think you're awesome. :D

Oh my god.

He said it. He said exactly what she’d wanted to hear from him since he ended it. He shouldn’t have broken up with her… Well, damn right he shouldn’t!

And the thing was, that now he’d said it, it suddenly dawned on her that: No. No he really should not have broken up with her. And what kind of thing was that even to say? He’d said nothing about wanting her back, or anything. Just said that he shouldn’t have broken up with her... And okay, she knew she should have probably asked him about that, but then she was on the ground, and Jake was helping her up, and oh god he was even hotter than she remembered, and then it had all turned to crap.

Because yeah, she wanted Danny to suffer. She wanted him to realize that breaking up with Mindy Lahiri was not something you just did without thinking it through, and definitely not something you lived to regret – or something. But honestly now? Sitting across from him and a fucking adorable girl, it did nothing to help her figure out what was going on.

Because Danny was being all nice and sweet and listened to what Lauren had to say, and refilled her wine and he looked like he was enjoying himself.

Which pissed Mindy off.

“Hey, Mindy?” she suddenly realized that she’d spent the better part of 10 minutes staring daggers into the side of Danny’s face. Jake was looking vaguely worried.

“Oh, shit sorry. What did you say? I think I’m a little out of sorts today.” She shot Jake her best smile, and batted her eyelashes for full effect.

“No worries, babe” he shot her smug smile and Mindy shuddered. Not because of the smile – although that was really fucking hot – but because of the casual way he used the term of endearment. She’d barely talked to him. She was not his babe. Nor would she ever be…

Well, that took a turn!

So the hot god-like guy next to her was not her future husband. Who would’ve known? Herself, probably… If she was completely honest with herself, she’d only ever decided on dating him because of Danny. Which was all kinds of fucked up, she knew that. But come to think of it, not really that surprising.

She returned her attention to the handsome guy in front of her.

“So, what did you say?” She noticed Danny was glancing at her, and suddenly felt completely empowered. Two could play this game. She reached out to place a hand on Jake’s arm, and turned her attention fully towards him.

“Just said that you look great.” He winked and she turned her head slightly, laughing coyly.

“Oh stop it” she punched him playfully with the hand already on his arm. “But thank you.” She licked her lips a little, knowing exactly what she did.

“SO WE SHOULD ORDER” Danny’s voice sounded slightly shrill in the tense atmosphere, and Mindy couldn’t help but smile a little to herself.

“Oh right, yes. Food.” She moved her hand from Jake to the menu and pretended to browse it very carefully. She already knew what she wanted, though.

“I’ve never had tapas before” Lauren’s little voice broke the awkward silence. Mindy looked outraged.

“You’ve never had tapas? Oh god, Lauren you’ve been missing out. It’s like these little pieces of goodness and just, oh god.”

Lauren gave a quiet chuckle and said, “I guess I just don’t go many places like this? I mean, mostly I just go to vegetarian restaurants and places where they believe in healthy food and ecology and stuff.”

She shot Danny a sly smile, and then went back to reading the menu. Mindy was still staring at her with an incredulous look on her face. Then she looked at Danny, like can-you-believe-this-girl? He hid a laugh in his hand, and she couldn’t help but smile back at him.

After holding eye contact with him for just a little too long, she became flustered and had to return to the menu. How did he do that? He just looked at her, and her entire resolve crumbled. She’d known for a while that she was in love with him, and she definitely wanted him back. But this was frustrating. Knowing that there was something between them and they could not even discuss it until this nightmare was over…

Yes, she was very aware the person to blame was 100% herself, but that didn’t change the fact that it still kind of sucked. She kind of wanted Danny to just take charge and force her to talk to him. It would definitely make it a lot easier to pretend to be all coy and sexy, while she secretly hoped he would just say “screw it, let’s run away together and live happily ever after…” If she was the one to initiate conversation, she’d seem desperate or… Well, okay, maybe not desperate. But she needed Danny to be the one to apologize. He was the one who had been a big fucking jerk and wow, maybe he’d been right: She only dated jerks.

This particular jerk, though? 100% better than all the other idiots combined. The decision to go on a double date might have been a dumb one, but at least it was making her realize things…

“Ready to order?”

Her stream of consciousness was disturbed by the waiter, and after firing off her order – which, according to Jake was “impressive” (jerk) – the conversation went back to being just a little stilted and awkward.

She asked Jake about his favorite movies and shows, which turned out to be: Fast and Furious 4 and How I Met Your Mother (because he admired Barney Stinson), so not really anything in common there.

His favorite book was The Playbook and his favorite band was that Robin Thicke guy.

All in all, he was pretty much the worst.

Sure, he looked like a Greek God, but his personality did not really live up to that… At all.

After about half an hour of incredibly awkward conversation, awkward silence and an unbelievably inappropriate hand on her thigh, she made her excuses to go to the bathroom.

“Sorry guys, I’ll be right back. Just have to powder my nose.” Danny stood up, as if to follow her to the bathroom, but she shot him a dirty look, signifying that that would maybe be just a little bit too inappropriate. She immediately regretted that though, when a) Lauren decided to join her instead and b) she realized how much she really wanted to talk to Danny right now.

“Oh my god Mindy, he’s perfect! So handsome and smart and nice. Thank you so much for setting this up!” Lauren hugged her tightly, which was more than a little weird, considering the fact that they were in the bathroom.

“Great. Nice. So, uhm. You and Danny are hitting it off then?” She tried not to show her annoyance, but her smile did not reach her eyes. She probably looked a little bit more serial killer, than supportive sort-of-friend.

“You have no idea. He’s being so considerate. Just listening to all the things I have to say. He’s a very quiet guy. I really like that!” She giggled and made he way into the toilet booth. “He’s perfect, Mindy!” she half-yelled through the closed door.

Mindy stared into the mirror and tried to make sense of what Lauren was saying. So Danny was being considerate huh? Listened to what she had to say… Was being quiet… That sounded absolutely nothing like Danny. And suddenly she felt a lot better. Danny was not interested in Lauren!

He was just being polite.

Mindy: 1  
Lauren: 0

She did a little dance to herself and tried to smother the smug grin on her face before Lauren saw her.

“So how’s your date going?”

“Oh, it’s… Interesting? I don’t think we’re really clicking to be honest. But it’s hard to tell when he shoots you one of his smiles.” Lauren giggled again and Mindy had to actively stop herself from grimacing. Such an annoying laugh.

“Oh my god I know. He’s so hot! If Danny and I don’t work out, I might have to steal his number from you…”

Mindy laughed and nodded. “Yeah, that might be necessary” she shot Lauren a cunning smile and turned around to head back into the restaurant.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Heeeeeey guuuuys....   
>  So I finally got around to updating this thing. I'm so sorry for the wait, but the start of this semester has been a lot harder than I thought it'd be! And then there's the issue of handing in assignments each week, working almost every day and also spending time with people that I like...  
> ON TOP OF hanging around tumblr like the major fangirl I am ;)
> 
> BUT HERE IT IS!  
> I think maybe there'll only be one more chapter? Or maybe two, idek...
> 
> I wish I could tag this with #renewmindy because a) I'm so proud of what we've accomplished on twitter and also b) because TMP should really get renewed ;)

”So, this Mindy chick? What’s her deal?” Mindy and Lauren had been gone for exactly 2 second, their retreating figures still actually  _in_ the restaurant, when Jake decided to try to make actual conversation.

“What do you mean?” Danny had desperately wanted to follow Mindy, if not to talk, then to make out in the bathroom, because honestly? She was killing him tonight. The sensual looks and the smiles. It was all becoming way too much. Especially because the girl on his right was basically her exact opposite. So boring. He’d asked her about all the things you had to ask on a date, and none of the answers had hit a nerve with Danny. Neither in a good or a bad way. She was just plain boring.

Mindy on the other hand? She’d been a lot of things to him: annoying med student, even more annoying co-worker, opinionated reluctant friend, way-too-curious actual friend, etc… But she had never been bored. Never once had he felt bored in her company.

He realized Jake was staring at him, eyebrows raised.

“Dude, are you even listening?”

“Sorry, I must’ve disappeared for a while… it happens sometimes.”

“So, what  _is_ her deal, then?”

“I don’t think I really get your question?”

“I mean, why are we doing this thing? She’s moderately attractive and kind of fun, but this date is a stinker. Mostly because of you guys.” He gestured to Lauren’s empty seat and Danny himself. Danny tried not to flip a table at Jake’s ridiculous statement. _Moderately_ attractive. Nothing about Mindy’s look was moderate. She was amazing, beautiful, perfect. This douchebag could not be more of an asshole right now.

“I mean it’s like you’re her father who’s here to chaperone, and you bought her little sister. It’s the worst.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He leaned forward in his chair, trying to look every bit as angry as he felt. Hopefully that would be enough to scare off Thor the giant, because an actual fight would not bode well for him.

“No offense, dude! You’re just a bit, you know, old?”

“I’m 38, okay?”

“You look 45.”

Before he could answer, Mindy was back, Lauren on her tail.

“Hey guys, did you miss us?”

Danny did not miss the way Jake’s hand shot out to rest on Mindy’s thigh. But he didn’t miss the horrified look on Mindy’s face either.

“Hey, Min? Could I talk to you for a second?” She looked grateful for the chance to get Jake’s hand off her, and nodded. “Of course, Danny. Just a second.” She shot a quick smile in Jake’s direction, and got up to follow Danny.

\---

He led her outside, and turned to look at her, hands on his side.

“What were you thinking Mindy?” he said, his tone a bit angrier than he’d set out for.

“Excuse me?” She mirrored his pose, and looked indignantly up at him.

“He’s such a jerk, Min. I mean, I get it. He’s handsome, but you deserve so much better.” His expression softened, and his arms fell down his side. “I just… You need to know that. That you deserve better.”

Mindy still looked vaguely angry, but her firmness had lessened. “Look, Danny. I know he’s a jerk. A major one at that, but… You still don’t get to decide who I do or do not date, okay? So maybe this guy is not the one for me, but I have a right to at least search for someone who  _actually wants to be with me.”_ She knew it was a low blow, but she needed and actual apology. Not something born from jealousy.

“I know, I… It’s just, Mindy…” he looked at her pleadingly and with such a desperate look in his eyes, that she considered letting him off the hook for a millisecond.

“Just what, Danny?” she challenged.

“You decided who I got to date tonight!” His desperation had turned right back into anger and annoyance, and even though Mindy knew it was just a deflection tactic, it still pissed her off.

“You know what, Danny? Yes, yes I did. But I was not the one to break up with you. So excuse me for trying to fix the remnants of our friendship. You  _broke up with me_ , okay! I’m not even supposed to be hanging out with you, and here I am, trying to fix you up with a pretty fucking cute girl, and all you do is bitch about what a jerk my date is? You’re an asshole, Danny.” She’d gotten herself so worked up, that she was practically crying now.

Danny stared at her, supposedly at a complete loss for words.

“So, I’m going to go back in there and enjoy what’s left of this horrible date, and I suggest you same.”

She turned around and strode back towards the front door of the restaurant.

“Min, wait.” He’d reached for her wrist, and pulled her gently back towards him.

“Danny” she said softly, her front still turned away from him. “This is not the right time.” She turned quickly towards him and shot him a sad smile.

“I want to tell you now.” He tried pulling her closer, but she resisted, and he dropped her wrist.

"I’m sorry.” He tried giving her a smile, but it never quite reached his eyes. Mindy had a sudden change of heart, and really wanted to wrap her arms around him and just hold on. She didn’t though, just quickly reached for his hand, squeezed it and went back into the restaurant.

“Sorry about that.” She said, as she sat down next to Jake. But Jake didn’t really seem like he’d been missing her all that much. His eyes were glued to Lauren, who was currently telling an apparently very interesting story about a farmer’s market she’d recently been to.

“And so, this guy who told me he was a vegetarian? He was there, stuffing his face with a pulled pork sandwich! And seriously, I don’t care whether or not people eat meat, but he lied to me, which pissed me off. And you know what he said?”

Jake shook his head vigorously, staring intently at the small woman in front of him.

“He hid the sandwich behind his back and said: Babe, you have to try this, uhm… Tofu meat?”

Both Jake and Lauren laughed loudly, and Mindy looked between them. She’d done it again. First Jamie and Lucy, and now these two idiots… She should’ve seen it coming.

“Sorry guys.” Danny sat down next to Lauren.

“About what?” Lauren said, absentmindedly, as she kept on staring at Jake.

“About… Leaving you guys alone back here?”

“Oh, you were gone? I didn’t even notice” She shot him a quick smile, and then went back to eye-fucking with Jake.

This went on for about 10 minutes, until Mindy finally caved and looked up at Danny. Apparently Danny had not taken the 10 minutes to man up the courage to look at her, because he was staring closely at her.

“We should get out of here” the voice broke the spell, and Mindy turned to Jake.

“What the hell?”

“Sorry, I wasn’t talking to you!” Jake shot her an amused grin, and started helping Lauren putting on her jacket.

“I know that, you douchebag!”

“What? You and I have nothing in common.” He leaned in close to her, and fake-whispered, “Besides, you’re not as hot as her.”

Mindy immediately pulled back with an outraged look on her face.   
“What the actual fuck…” before she could do what she wanted – which was to slap Jake across the face – Danny had done her bidding. Or well, instead of slapping him, he punched him straight on the nose.

“You don’t get to talk to her like that, you fucking idiot.” Then he grabbed Mindy’s hand and pulled her out the restaurant, before the waiter could get to them and actually throw them out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, stalk me here:  
> http://aconstipatedmeerkat.tumblr.com


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the absurd delay... I've been having a bit of trouble with the start of this semester and there has just been a lot of crap... But here it is: The final chapter.  
> I'm sorry for the insane amount of fluff, and the lack of smut. But I just... I don't know how to write smut, even if I wanted (which I think I do? Or? Idek)
> 
> ANYHOW! Thank you so much for all your amazing feedback. It's incredibly humbling and awesome to hear your thoughts and just ugh... YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST <3

They were running and laughing like crazy teenagers.

“OH MY GOD, DANNY!” Mindy got out between hiccups of laughter, trying to keep up with the man who was currently pulling her along. She clutched her side with her free hand, and tried focusing on not falling in her way-too-high-heels.

“Danny, stop. Shit, slow down.” She was still laughing but something in her tone, made Danny turn around.

“I think we’re far enough away now.” She shot him a smile, while she leaned forward, trying to regain her breath.

He immediately dropped her hand, and went to her side. “Hey, sorry. You okay?” she looked up at him again, still smiling. “Of course I’m okay, but you try running in these heels. Like, running is always horrible, but in heels? Way worse.”

He chuckled. “I can’t believe that idiot. Where did you even find him?” He was rubbing soothing circles into Mindy’s back. She was still hunched over, breathing deeply.

She stood back up, and stared intently at him. The signs of laughter still apparent on her face, but otherwise she looked serious. Intense. A bit scary, if he was honest…

“You didn’t have to come tonight, you know.” She said it like a challenge, but he was too far in to take that challenge. He’d already ruined everything before, and he needed her to know exactly why he came. Why he wanted to be around her.

“Of course I had to come.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

“Danny, don’t do that. It’s not that cute.” Both her hands were on her hips now, and she raised an eyebrow at him. He couldn’t help but shoot her a smile.

“Look, Min… I’m sorry. I know I should’ve said something before. And I know I should’ve told you how I felt, instead of just… Ending it. But seeing you in there? With that jerk? Hearing him say what he said to you? It killed me Mindy.”

“And how exactly was I supposed to know that? You were the one who told me that ‘guys don’t break up with girls they want to be with’.”

“I was an idiot, okay? A fucking stupid idiot.”

“Yes, yes you were.” She smiled at him, and he moved closer to her, effectively crowding her against the wall.

“So please stop this.” Her back was now leaning against the wall, his hands on either side of her hips.

“Stop what?” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.  

“Stop this double date thing. Just, stop dating. Stop dating anyone, ever… Because I can’t bear to see you with anyone else. None of them treat you the way you deserve and they don’t know what… what a fucking gift you are, okay?” He couldn’t quite keep the trembling out of his voice at the final words.

“A gift? Really Danny?” She grinned at him, and fisted her hands in the front of his shirt.

“Shut up”

“Make me” he barely registered the grin on her face, before he was kissing her. Their lips moved together, as he pushed her further back against the wall, and her arms circled around his shoulders.

She pulled him closer, and held on so tightly, that Danny chuckled against her lips.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.” He said, as he drew back slightly, to get better access to her throat, where he proceeded to place light kisses.

“Promise me, Danny. I need you to promise that you’ll never do anything like that again.” she was still holding on to him tightly. Danny moved back to look her in the eye, but she wasn’t meeting his eyes.

He placed one of his hands on her chin and tilted her head back. “I’m not going anywhere, Min. I’m all in. If I ever hurt you again, you hereby have my permission to punch me in the face. Or get Morgan to do it.”

“Don’t make me laugh,” she smiled at him, “you broke my heart, Danny. And I need to be sure that doesn’t happen again.”

“It won’t.” he said steadfastly and pulled her into a hug. “I promise.” he whispered into her hair.

“Good.” She said quietly, and withdrew from him; but only as far as the wall would allow.

“Want to get out of here?” he suggested. “I mean, not… Not like that. Unless you want that? Because that would be great. But I mean, I understand if you don’t? I just think we shouldn’t stay out here all night and…”

“You’re rambling! I don’t think I’ve ever heard you do that before. You’ve got it bad for me, huh Castellano?”

“Yeah…” he said with a goofy smile.

“Come on” she grabbed his hand, and led him towards the subway. “We’re only one stop away from your apartment.” She winked at him.

“You sure?”

“Yeah”

Once they were in the metro, he held her close, and kissed her until they reached their destination. The disgusted groans and comments from other people had no effect, because all he could think about was the woman in his arms.

“You know what I just realized?” she said to him, once they were at his front door. His one hand hadn’t left the soft curve of her hips since the metro, the other was fumbling for keys.

“What?”

“We’re really bad at double dates. Like insanely bad. Books could be written about how bad we are at double dates. Long books, Danny!” he grinned at her, and pulled her into his apartment.

“No, but think about it. Jamie and Lucy? Tonight? The… Oh god, I can’t even remember the skater’s name? Shit.

“We’re not bad at double dates.” He said against her neck. He had immediately pushed her back against the closed door, and was now placing kisses everywhere he could reach. Her hands were absentmindedly playing with the buttons of his shirt.

“What? We’re like Guinness World Records amounts of bad!” She sounded outraged, but then he bit down slightly on the spot where her neck met her shoulders, and she elicited a strangled moan.

“We just haven’t been on double dates with the right people.” He moved back to her face and kissed her cheek. “Maybe if we hadn’t been dating other people, everything would’ve worked out.”

“We should definitely test that theory later.” She moved out of his arms, towards his kitchen, shedding her coat in the process. “After you’ve ravished me on your kitchen table.”

He stood back for a minute, stunned at the change of conversation. Then he smiled, knowing how lucky he was to have had this chance again.

“Are you going to stand there all day?” he was brought back from his thought by Mindy’s bra hitting the floor right in front of him.

Okay, thoughts later, kitchen-table-ravishing now.

 

\---

 

It later turned out they really just were very very _very_ bad at double dates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always: Stalk me here  
> http://aconstipatedmeerkat.tumblr.com


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